


A Little Overbearing

by rosewaterwinter



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Best Friends, Crushes, F/M, Fluff, Hop hasn't been bullied this much since middle school, Hop's sanity is being tested every day, Idiots in Love, Isle of Armor events tweaked to my liking, Pokemon Sword & Shield Expansion Pass: The Isle of Armor, Post-Gym Challenge, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:15:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27953732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosewaterwinter/pseuds/rosewaterwinter
Summary: After spending several months on the Isle of Armor training with her new partner pokémon, Gloria is surprised by an unexpected visit from an old friend. However, her new friend does not take to the old friend as well as she would like.Or: Hop is suddenly seeking approval from a giant, terrifying bear who could snap him in two with almost no effort, even though he’s literally known Gloria since they were in diapers.
Relationships: Hop/Yuuri | Gloria
Comments: 10
Kudos: 79





	1. Chapter 1

Gloria pushed open the large double doors, trying to suppress a shiver as she stepped into the warm yellow light of the dojo. It rained far too often on the Isle of Armor, and her lightweight dojo uniform didn’t do much to stop the cold from seeping into her bones. Urshifu trailed close behind her, the towering pokémon glued dutifully to his trainer’s side. 

Since evolving from Kubfu, Urshifu had become fiercely loyal and protective of Gloria; while she knew it was the pokémon’s way of reciprocating how much she had believed in him when he was just a cub, it could be… a lot to have such an imposing pokémon constantly in your wake. Well, at least he was tall enough to keep some of the rain off her. 

“Come on Urshifu,” she called. “Let’s go see what’s for lunch. I think we could both use some curry to warm up.”

Urishfu grunted in agreement. He wasn’t very talkative. As a Kubfu, he had been much more spunky. Nowadays he was infinitely more confident, but with just as much seriousness to match. Gloria shirked off her wet jacket, completely absorbed in thoughts of her new partner pokémon and whatever curry was waiting for them in the kitchen. She was so distracted that she didn’t even notice the purple-haired boy standing almost directly in her line of view. In fact, she would have walked right past him had it not been for Honey’s playful chuckle.

Gloria looked up towards the noise, her eyes quickly jumping from the older woman to the boy who was grinning at her from just a few feet away.

“Gloria, it appears you have a visitor,” Honey’s voice was singsong, amused as if to suggest she knew something that Gloria didn’t. 

Of course, Gloria paid almost no attention to this, bounding past the woman with an excited shout.

“HOP!”

She leapt towards her friend, pulling him into a crushing hug. Hop took half a step back to steady himself as he caught her before returning her embrace with just as much enthusiasm. Gloria couldn’t help but notice the strong arms that enveloped her — warm and familiar, but... somehow new. 

When the pair finally released, Gloria allowed herself to step back and take in the sight of her best friend. Upon further examination, ‘familiar but new’ certainly continued to ring true.

Had Hop not filled out since their time in the Gym Challenge, she almost certainly would have barreled him to the ground with her aggressive hugging. But he was no longer the string bean of a boy that she had grown up with; he was sturdier now, with toned arms and broadened chest. Still slimmer than Leon, but taller than him, too. It had only been a handful of months since Gloria had seen Hop, but he had certainly grown into himself during that short time.

Gloria felt her cheeks flush when she realized she was staring, but Hop seemed none the wiser. Maybe some things about him had changed, but it seemed that others had stayed completely the same. Gloria giggled to herself as she silently thanked Arceus for her best friend’s continued cluelessness. The laugh prompted a questioning but unconcerned look from Hop, but she brushed it off with ease.

“What are you doing here, mate?”

“I’ve got some research to do about the Dynamax pokémon here on the Isle of Armor. When Sonia mentioned it, I jumped on the chance to go because I knew you’d been training here.”

Gloria couldn’t hide her smile. When she’d come to the Isle of Armor on a whim, she hadn’t expected to stay for so long. But one unexpected event led to another (and another and another), and when Master Mustard offered to let her stay in the dojo to continue to train, she couldn’t refuse. She’d spent the last few months raising Kubfu into Urshifu, and now that he had evolved Gloria wanted to continue to work with him to master his special techniques. She had kept up with her friends through her rotom phone as much as she could, but she had no idea when she would actually be able to make a trip back to the mainland. Seeing Hop made her the slightest bit homesick, but also brought a sense of comfort to her, too.

Gloria was so caught up in her friend’s arrival that she hadn’t noticed Urshifu’s looming presence as he moved in to tower behind her. Well, that, and she was pretty used to the massive wall of fur shadowing her at all times, so it wasn’t hard to tune out.

The concern on Hop’s face, however, made it clear that he was very much not used to it. Urshifu snorted as he fixed his beady eyes on the boy. Gloria reached a hand up to pat Urshifu’s arm, mostly unaware of the mounting tension between the two.

“Oh, I almost forgot! Hop, this is Urshifu. He’s been my partner pretty much since I arrived on the Isle of Armor.”

Hop swallowed, the noise louder than he had hoped it would be. “Right, I recognized him from the pictures you’ve sent. I guess I just didn’t expect him to be so… big?”

Urshifu grunted, the noise low and rumbling. Hop winced, his face betraying him with an expression that made it obvious that he was ready to hightail it out of the room. Gloria pointedly ignored this, carrying on in her excitement. 

“I know, right? It’s hard to believe he was just a little Kubfu a few months ago.”

At the mention of this, Urshifu dropped his head and nuzzled it into Gloria’s hand, the creature clearly looking to be pet. As she stroked the fur on the top of the pokémon’s head, Hop felt himself relax.

Of course, Urshifu must have sensed him letting his guard down, because it took all of two seconds for the pokémon to retrain his eyes back on the young professor. 

Hop fumbled, feeling vaguely threatened again. “Of course, I never meant to get in the way of your training. I just thought it would be nice to see you if there was work to be done all the way out here anyway.”

“No no no, you’re not in the way of anything! I mean, really, I’d hate to bother you. It sounds like you have your fair share of work cut out for you here.”

Hop softened a bit at her declaration. “You could never, Glo. You know that.”

Suddenly Gloria was flushed, tugging aimlessly at the sleeve of her sweatshirt. “Actually, Urshifu and I haven’t been running much of a schedule these last few days. Master Mustard has been busy working with a new dojo class, so we’ve just been out training in the wilds on our own.” Hop’s eyes flickered over to Urshifu, who nodded sternly with something that resembled pride crossing his ursine features. “In fact, if you’re going to be doing field work, maybe we could even come with you.”

Hop felt his eyes widen in surprise at Gloria’s suggestion, and watched Urshifu’s do the same. Well, at least he had something in common with the pokémon now.

Gloria began stammering almost immediately. ”O-of course, I don’t want to be a burden to you. I just thought it might be nice since we know our way around the island and everything. But — “

Hop cut her off, feeling guilty that his expression had betrayed him. “No, of course not! Didn’t you hear what I just said? You’re never a bother to me. I was just surprised is all.”

Gloria looked up at him, cautious but confident. She stayed quiet.

“I would love to have you, but the trip will probably take at least a few days. So I’m not sure if that would work out for —“

“Oh, that’ll be just fine!”

The two trainers’ heads swiveled towards the new voice that had interjected itself in their conversation. Honey sat at the table nearby, the desk covered in Watt renovation paperwork that she clearly wasn’t reading.

She waved a hand in their direction. “The new recruit class just arrived two days ago, so Mustard will have his hands full with them for… oh, at least five more. He likes to take at least a week to get to know his new students, or more if there ends up being any stragglers.” 

The pair blinked at her with some uncertainty. Honey was giving them permission that, if they were being completely honest, they didn’t know they needed. In fact, Gloria was pretty sure she specifically didn’t need said permission, but for some reason the woman’s motherly and assured tone was convincing anyway.

“I… okay, yeah. I can do that then.” Gloria spoke the words, but still seemed almost confused by them. Urshifu looked downright pained. 

“Perfect. We can leave tomorrow morning. I’ll hope for better weather, but my work can be done rain or shine.” The way Hop spoke was stiff and stilted, too. He supposed having an unexpected audience (even if said audience was just one overly supportive motherly figure) could do that to you.

“In the meantime, do you want to go grab some curry? There’s always something delicious in the kitchen.”

Hop’s stomach growled almost on command. “This is why you’re my best friend, Gloria. You always show up with the best ideas.”

She led him across the dojo, and Urshifu trailed a short distance behind them. Hop could swear that his every move was being watched.

Though a majority of him was elated to be having Gloria come along on his research trip, he couldn’t help but feel like this might be a long few days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My favorite tag for these two is "idiots in love" so I hope that shines through! <3


	2. Chapter 2

Gloria groaned as Hop flipped his map upside down for the umpteenth time. “I said I know my way around the island, not the freakin’ forest.”

“Well, the pokémon I just so happen to be looking for lives in this ‘freakin’ forest,’ so you’d better learn your way around it quick unless you want to make it your new home.”

Urshifu grumbled roughly at Hop’s tone, but he didn’t have it in him to feel afraid. He was too stressed trying to figure out where the right habitat was. Lilligant was only active at certain times of the day, and if they couldn’t figure out where they needed to be soon, he would miss out on a whole day of research.

They had set out early in the morning and it was now well into the afternoon. Though the weather had cleared up, it was so hot and muggy that Hop almost wished it was still raining. He set down the map, shrugging off his Wooloo wool-lined jacket and shoving it into his pack. Gloria had gone quiet, staring down at him with a blank expression on her face.

“Earth to Gloria, you doin’ okay there mate? Is the heat getting to you, too?”

“O-oh, yeah.” Gloria stammered, blushing for some reason. “Yeah, I guess it must be. I was just spacing out, because of the heat. Not because of anything else. You’re just really hot — I mean, Hop! You’re really Hop, and it’s really hot out, and that’s what I meant to say, that it’s just so hot, not that you’re Hop because obviously you know that and that would be wei—”

Hop chuckled, pulling a water bottle from his bag and extending it to Gloria. “I think you need this more than I do, mate.”

She took it slowly, her face still flushed as she struggled to unscrew the cap and take a sip. “Sorry, I just —”

“Tili!”

Hop’s eyes lit up as his head swiveled towards the noise.

“Look! It’s a Petilil! Petilil evolves into Lilligant, which is just the pokémon we’re looking for. That must mean we’re close to the habitat!”

The Petilil let out another cry before stumbling a few steps forward, then back again. Urshifu cocked his head curiously.

“I… think it looks a bit lost.” Gloria put a hand on her pokémon, making sure it didn’t get too close. Urshifu had a way of frightening things sometimes, and the Petilil already looked so small and scared.

The Petilil locked eyes on Hop, rushing over with another cry and clinging to the boy’s legs.

Hop couldn’t help but groan. “I think this little guy might even be more lost than we are. So much for being close to that habitat.”

“What? Not ready for motherhood?” Gloria couldn’t help but tease her friend, who met her jokes with a sheepish smile.

“I’ll have you know that I would make a fantastic mother. The amount of patience I’ve shown Dubwool over the years more than proves that.” He shook his head, bringing his focus back to the situation at hand. “I think… you’re going to have to have to help me out here, Glo. I’m afraid that if we move Petilil and its parents aren’t too far behind, we might lose them. On the other hand, one of us should probably go see if we can find them first and considering this little guy is stuck to my leg, I don’t think it can be me.”

Gloria gave an exaggerated sigh, clearly playing up the drama. “Alright, but you know you owe me for this one. I could get lost forever and never come back.”

Hop grinned. “You know, if you were Lee that would actually be a genuine concern. I’m sure you’ll manage somehow.”

It was all Gloria could do to shake her head and smile. There was no way she could come up with a retort for that one. “Well, you owe me anyway. Come on, Urshifu!”

Gloria set off into the forest, and it was only then that Hop realized Urshifu had been absolutely fixated on him. In fact, the pokémon was still staring at Hop, even as Gloria started to disappear into the trees. Hop cleared his throat the best he could, and Urshifu narrowed his eyes at him.

“Urshifu, you might want to… you know.” Hop nodded his head in Gloria’s general direction, trying to be as casual as possible. Some part of him was still afraid that pointing or… any other sudden movements might result in getting his arm ripped off.

Urshifu turned to look, his eyes widening at the sight of Gloria wandering off. He still took the time to turn back to glare at Hop, a low warning growl rumbling in his chest. The Petilil let out a squeak, and Urshifu looked surprised as he seemed to remember that the baby pokémon was still present. Upon this realization he promptly stopped the growl, but that didn’t stop him from glaring at Hop a second time before dashing off towards Gloria.

Hop sighed heavily, looking down at the Petilil. “Thanks for saving me, little guy. Who would have thought, huh?”

———

Hop didn’t know how long Gloria had been gone when he finally decided to take a seat under the shade of a nearby tree. Even in this new position, the Petilil still hung tight to his legs. He flipped through his field journal absentmindedly, desperately trying to come up with something to write down. He was supposed to be observing the pokémon in their natural habitat, and he was pretty sure that Sonia wouldn’t accept “Stage 5 Clinger” as a valid field note.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure your parents will find you soon.” Hop wasn’t sure whether he was speaking to reassure the Petilil or himself, but it didn’t matter much at this point. He sighed, looking up from the pokémon to see if there was any sign of Gloria —

— and nearly shit himself as his face was suddenly mere inches away from Urshifu’s snout.

Hop couldn’t help but let out a shout, scrambling backwards on his hands as he backed away from the bear as quickly as possible.

“What the hell! You’re going to scare the —”

“Hop!” Gloria’s excited voice broke out as she ran to catch up with them, seemingly unaware of the sheer terror that her pokémon had just put him through.

“Lilliii!”

A Lilligant trailed behind her, looking as nervous and eager as a plant pokémon possibly could. Hop’s tension melted away almost immediately, relief flooding him.

“It took me nearly two hours, but I found her!”

“Tilil!”

The Petilil bounded past him towards the Lilligant, seeming to forget about Hop in an instant. Hop smiled to himself as he wrote down ‘strong maternal bonds’ in his notebook, then smiled again as he looked up to the sight of Gloria on the ground, face to face with the Lilligant with a huge smile plastered across her face. 

“I think she’s trying to thank us.” Gloria looked genuinely happy with her observation. She had always had a way with pokémon that Hop had never quite managed.

Hop chuckled. “If she really wants to thank us, maybe she could lead us to the part of the forest that the Lilligant normally stay in.”

“Lilli lil!” The Lilligant smiled, and began walking off, stopping briefly to turn around and stare at them.

Gloria looked excited. “I think she wants us to follow them.”

They trailed the pokémon for all of 20 yards before they turned into a small outcropping lush with berry trees, native plants, and dozens more Lilligant and Petilil.

Hop felt his eye twitch slightly. “We were… right here. The whole time.”

“In my defense, the Lilligant had wandered off in a different direction. She was very much not right here.”

There were a few moments of empty silence before the pair broke down into a fit of hysterical laughter. Maybe it was the ridiculousness of the situation, maybe it was the heat, or maybe it was just going through it all with your best friend by your side.

“Come on,” Hop motioned to a corner of the area that was mostly uninhabited. “Let’s pick a spot to set up camp, yeah? I think we deserve it.”


	3. Chapter 3

The rest of the evening was pleasantly uneventful, for the most part. Hop spent some time observing the colony of Lilligant and Petilil, taking notes and sketching things every now and then. Gloria spent most of that same time observing Hop observing the pokémon, and Urshifu spent it observing Gloria observing Hop and getting increasingly grumpy about it. All in all not a bad night, unless you were to ask Urshifu.

Before the sun could begin to sink, Hop and Gloria got to work setting up their respective tents, which was moving along just fine until Urshifu decided he needed to check things out on his own. Apparently the tent manufacturers hadn’t accounted for giant bear paws when they’d put this model on the market, because all it took was one swipe from Urshifu trying to get into Gloria’s tent for the whole front panel to be ripped to shreds. 

Gloria scolded Urshifu, and Hop flinched a bit as he wondered whether she should be fearing for her life for talking to him like that. But the pokémon just looked incredibly guilty.

Gloria shook her head. “I know you didn’t mean it, but you need to learn to be more careful. It’s okay to ask for help if you don’t know something.”

Urshifu looked down at his feet. It was clear that he really respected Gloria, and for the first time it occurred to Hop that maybe Urshifu hadn’t just decided to dislike him for no reason. While the pokémon and trainer were distracted, he flipped to a blank page in his journal and scribbled down a few notes.

__Urshifu  
Protective, stern, commanding — personality traits, or characteristics of species?  
Protective to a fault? Is it possible for pokémon to experience jealousy the same way humans do? 

Hop clicked his pen absentmindedly as he considered his thoughts. As a trainer himself, he knew firsthand that pokémon experienced a wide range of emotions and could form incredible bonds with their trainers — love them, even. But he had never seen a pokémon exhibit something so close to jealousy over a human before. Of course, he could be wrong and Urshifu could hate him for some other reason, but it was an interesting theory at least.

“Hop, I’m so sorry.”

He slammed his notebook shut immediately at the sound of Gloria’s voice. For some reason, the thought of Gloria reading his notes about her partner pokémon embarrassed him. He was still relatively new to this whole professor thing, anyway, and he would be lying if he didn’t still sometimes feel like he had impostor syndrome over the whole thing.

“I hate to ask, but is it okay if we stay in your tent tonight? When the sun goes down, the temperature drops like crazy in the forest... otherwise I wouldn’t mind sleeping outside.”

Hop shook his head at his friend. “Gloria, remember earlier when I said you were never a bother? That goes for any situation, including this one. Plus, you’d be crazy if you think I’d ever let you sleep outside in the middle of a freakin’ forest. What kind of best friend would I be then?”

Gloria smiled a little bit. “I know, I just feel bad. But I guess you do owe me for finding that Lilligant today anyway.”

He shook his head with a playful roll of his eyes. “Yeah. Of course I do.” 

Hop couldn’t help the Cutieflys that surged in his stomach as Gloria began to move her things into his tent. Though the sensation was surprising, it wasn’t an unwelcome one. Before he could stop to think about what it meant, the Cutieflys met their bitter end with one swift stamp of a bear paw.

Into the tent. 

Into his tent, specifically.

_Shit._

She had said “we,” hadn’t she?

———

Urshifu didn’t sleep in his pokéball, because of course he didn’t.

In fact, he slept directly in between Hop and Gloria’s sleeping bags, and Hop almost didn’t manage to sleep at all.

He must have managed to nod off eventually, and the only reason he could be sure was because he woke up to two black, beady eyes staring him dead in the face.

Hop woke with a start and a scream that he wasn’t proud of, and winced when he realized that Gloria had definitely heard it, and if she wasn’t already awake then it had definitely just served as her alarm clock. 

Urshifu’s expression remained entirely unchanged, and as Hop sat up to beg for Gloria’s forgiveness he felt himself wondering if he had been completely wrong about yesterday’s observations. Was it possible that the pokémon couldn’t even feel any emotion at all? Urshifu certainly had a way of acting like absolutely nothing phased him at times, and it was more than a little bit unsettling.

To both Hop’s relief and concern, Gloria was not in the tent. He tried to keep himself calm before his mind could come up with any worst case scenarios, telling himself that if anything had actually happened to her Urshifu would most certainly not still be in the tent with him. He pulled on his jacket and stepped outside, doing his best to ignore the bear that was following close behind him and definitely breathing down his neck.

Almost immediately upon leaving the tent, he was met with the sight of Gloria in the clearing, playing with a couple of small Petilil. He caught himself smiling, before the realization that she had been more than close enough to hear his girly shriek dawned on him in horror.

“Hey, you’re finally awake!” Gloria's chipper morning voice piped up.

Hop felt himself melt a bit as he gave her a little wave.

“Oh, and you’re up too, Hop!”

Hop deflated immediately, trying not to think about the fact that she hadn’t even noticed him despite the fact that he was, in fact, standing in front of Urshifu. He swore he could almost hear the pokémon snicker, and actively chose to ignore it. He had barely woken up, and he certainly didn't need this reaction going in his notes, though it may have debunked his previous theory about Urshifu’s lack of emotion.

Thankfully Gloria didn’t seem to notice his internal struggling as she walked over with a spring in her step.

“What’s on the docket for today, Professor?”

Oh.

Gloria calling him “Professor” was something he enjoyed more than he had expected to. With how the day had gone so far, he tried not to read too much into that one.

“Well, my Champion and Assistant, today we are on the lookout for Applin nectar!”

“Applin… nectar? Not actual Applins?”

“Well, it couldn’t hurt to observe those, too. But the nectar produced by the Applins here on the Isle of Armor has different properties than the nectar that comes from the Applins in the rest of Galar, so I want to take some samples back to the lab for a more thorough analysis.”

Gloria nodded dutifully. “Honestly, I didn’t even know Applins produced nectar, but you’ve got it, boss!”

Hop looked at her questioningly. “Wait, their nectar gets absolutely everywhere. It’s like, impossible not to know. Have you never had an Applin before?”

“I mean, I’ve seen them, but I’ve never raised my own. They’re pretty rare, and I haven’t ever been lucky enough to catch one… or be given one.” Gloria turned her eyes away from Hop and blushed a little bit as she spoke, the subtext of what she was saying a little too obvious. An old Galar wives’ tale said that if you gave the person you loved an Applin, you would be together forever, which made them a somewhat popular gift for couples or confessions (if you could get your hands on one, of course).

Hop felt himself unconsciously rub at the back of his neck, feeling uncertain about what she had just admitted. “Well, maybe we will have to find you one, then. Plus if it’s from the Isle of Armor, it’s sure to be extra special.” He knew what his comment sounded like, and he couldn’t bring himself to look at her.

“Thanks, Hop.” 

Gloria’s voice was very soft, and that made him panic. Had he said something stupid? Hop found himself immediately rambling on in an attempt to fix things.

“Of course, Gloria! I mean, you’re a great trainer, obviously one of the best, so I’d love to see what you do with one. It’s evolutions, Flapple and Appletun, are two very different pokémon, and it would be interesting to see which one your Applin ends up evolving into. Some people think the evolution is due to the flavor of the Applin’s fruit, but I think it could potentially end up being a nurture versus nature sort of situation —”

Gloria looked a bit sad at first, but seemed to brighten as he spoke. Maybe she had just felt bad over the reminder that she had never been given an Applin before, and the fact that she would probably only get one with her best friend by her side instead of a romantic partner? Whatever the reason, only Gloria could find joy in Hop’s incessant ramblings.

She finally interrupted him.

“Thank you, Hop. I really mean it.” She walked past him towards the tent, then turned back to face him with a brand new smile. “Ready to get started, Professor?”


	4. Chapter 4

Finding the Applin nests was much easier than finding the Lilligant colony had been. The pokémon usually resided in trees, which meant that the nectar would drip down and be easy to collect off of the trunks and lower branches. Despite the abundance of nectar samples, finding any actual Applin was much harder.

They had gotten an admittedly later start this morning, and the heat was already setting in. Though Hop seemed adamant about finding an Applin despite his original indifference towards locating the pokémon themselves, Gloria suggested they find a cool spot to sit and rest for a while. As much as he wanted to protest, Hop had to admit the heat was getting to him too.

With a heavy sigh, they sunk down underneath the shade of the nearest tree that was large enough to fit the three of them underneath it.

“You know, it’s alright if I don’t find an Applin here. They are part dragon-type after all, so I’m sure that Raihan has raised a few. I could always just ask him to get me an egg or something the next time I make it back to Hammerlocke.”

For some reason, the idea of Raihan presenting Gloria with an Applin made Hop’s stomach twist in a way he wasn’t prepared for. Normally one of many words, he found himself at a total loss for what to say. Any protest at this point would make him sound… weird.

Feeling uncomfortable in his own silence, Hop moved to lean his back against the tree trunk, coming down a little bit too hard against it as he shifted his weight. The bumping motion shouldn’t have hurt him much, but the unexpected thump of something sizable hitting him on the head shortly after was enough to make him groan.

He rubbed at the top of his head, too distracted to realize that the weighted object had settled itself right into his lap. Only a surprised noise from Gloria brought his attention back to… whatever it was that had hit him. 

Hop glanced down to his lap to find a round and shiny Applin staring up at him. He smiled at the small creature, slowly reaching towards it. He didn’t want to startle the pokémon, even if it had technically been the one to surprise him first. A few moments later, he had the Applin in his hands, and was slowly moving to hand it off to Gloria. 

Her eyes were glued to the pokémon as she waited, frozen. It was obvious she understood the need for caution; wild pokémon could be skittish things, and even though an Applin literally falling into Hop’s lap was all too perfect, they weren’t in the clear with it yet.

Just as she reached out to accept it, a feral roar from Urshifu rang out. The Applin jumped, falling out of Hop’s hands and onto the forest floor, then promptly rolled into the nearest bush for safety.

“Urshifu!” Gloria scolded. “Why would you do that?”

The pokémon had the audacity to look a bit sheepish, but didn’t react much beyond that. He was a difficult read when he wanted to be, and this was certainly one of those times. 

Gloria reached into her backpack for a pokéball, and Urshifu hung his head. Without another word, she pressed the button and recalled Urshifu into the ball. She turned the ball over in her hands a few times, watching her own motions instead of looking at Hop.

“I’m really sorry. I don’t know why he did that.”

“I can think of a few reasons,” Hop muttered, but Gloria continued without seeming to hear it.

“Honestly, he’s been really bizarre this whole trip. Urshifu is so serious that he’s normally pretty even-tempered. He was much more hotheaded as a Kubfu, but this just feels like something else entirely. You must think I’m an awful trainer.”

Her words surprised Hop; he had never heard her speak like that, with such uncertainty towards herself. The Gloria he knew was always calm, confident, and sure… and she still deserved to be.

“Of course I don’t, Glo. As a trainer and a professor, I know better than anyone how hard it can be to work with pokémon sometimes. Each one is different and special, and their temperaments can come from all sorts of things beyond our control. You’re still the best trainer I know.”

Hop debated telling her his recent… theories about Urshifu, but ultimately decided against it. He didn’t know if Gloria really saw him as a Pokémon Professor yet (if she didn’t, it would be hard to blame her when even he didn’t feel like one most of the time), and he didn’t know if it would be strange for him to try to share his observations. Besides that, he wasn’t completely confident in them yet anyway.

He was interrupted regardless as Gloria slowly began to reach a hand towards his face. He froze in shock, completely clueless as to what was happening but far too afraid of accidentally stopping it to say anything.

After a few brief moments that felt like several eternities, Gloria’s hand finally stopped on Hop’s cheek. He remained frozen, suppressing an unexpected shudder as Gloria swept her thumb across his cheek. As suddenly as all this had started, she pulled her hand back and popped her thumb in her mouth, licking at her finger.

Without so much as a voluntary thought, Hop felt his own hand clap down on the part of his face that Gloria had touched just seconds before. The sensation of something that felt almost… sticky on his palm was enough to clear the fog that had been enveloping his brain.

Sticky.

Oh my god.

Hop jolted as he smacked Gloria’s hand away from her mouth.

“Mate, you can’t just go around eating random forest substances! You have no basis for whether that was safe or not, and what’s worse — what if Applin was a poison-type pokémon? We’d be in the middle of nowhere with no help for you, though I supposed if you’re going to act like a pokémon we could have just thrown a potion your way and seen what happened. You’re lucky that I do happen to know that the nectar is safe to eat, but Gloria, I swear —”

Gloria felt her embarrassment grow as her friend’s concern began turning into a lecture, and she was desperate to stop it. She listened as he droned on and on, until she burst out with the first protest she could think of.

"It smelled good!" 

Hop fell completely silent, blinking at her with a bewildered expression. She stared back blankly, having no idea where to go from here. Her argument had been true, though it made her sound like an idiot. And that much was… also true.

After a few more seconds of silence, they broke down into a fit of uncontrollable giggles.

The pair's laughter must have been much more inviting than Urshifu's roar was, because the nearby brush shuddered slightly. The Applin poked its feelers out cautiously, nervous but interested in the two trainers.

Hop moved into a crouch, outstretching his hand toward the Applin. "Awww, come here little guy. It's alright now." 

The Applin began to roll towards them, a little bit at a time. It finally stopped about three feet away, cautiously gazing at the trainers.

Hop stood to move towards it, his movements slow and steady. Gloria watched nervously, making an effort to stay as still as possible. She didn’t want the poor creature to be frightened again, and was afraid that saying so much as a word would scare it away.

After what felt like ages, Hop was finally hovering over the small Applin. It looked up at him carefully, but didn’t bolt. In one swift movement, Hop bent over and plucked it up. The pokémon sat in his arms, surprised, but made no effort to get away.

Hop moved back to face his friend, holding the pokémon out to her in his hands. 

“I believe this little one is to be yours.”

Gloria began to reach towards him, but stopped when the Applin wriggled a bit. “Hop, are you sure?”

Hop nodded determinedly. “Applins are for giving and receiving. Besides, I'm sure we will be together forever. We're best friends after all, and you already know that you can't get rid of me.”

Apparently that was enough convincing, because without another word Gloria took the Applin from Hop’s hands. She smiled at the small thing, and it bounced happily.

Once the pokémon seemed comfortable, Gloria tucked the Applin under one arm to fish a pokéball out of her bag. She held it in her palm and spoke sternly.

“Behave, Urshifu. This new pokémon isn’t going anywhere, and unless you want to spend the rest of the day in your pokéball, I suggest you learn how to make friends.”

With a click, Urshifu was released. He stood there obediently as he watched the Applin wiggle, eventually cocking his head to the side as his curiosity apparently got the best of him.

Gloria looked at him with a serious expression, and spoke sternly to the lumbering bear. “Now, be nice.”

Urshifu looked at her wordlessly, then flicked his eyes back to the Applin in her hands. She slowly raised the pokémon to meet his eyes, and he watched it with intrigue. After a moment, Urshifu leaned in and licked up the side of the Applin.

“Urshifu!” Gloria pulled the Applin back, but it was clear that the larger pokémon had already learned his lesson. He stood there with a twisted expression, like he had just tasted something sour.

Hop couldn’t help but let out laugh. “Well, if he’s really that tart, then it looks like science would say this little guy will someday be a Flapple, but I suppose only time will tell.”

Applin hopped excitedly in Gloria’s arms, letting out small noises of glee. Urshifu’s face finally softened, looking down at the small pokémon with what could almost be considered a pleasant expression. It didn’t take long for Gloria to start smiling along with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so weak for the Applin trope


	5. Chapter 5

Tomorrow’s task was to study the Isle of Armor’s native Combee; Hop had learned that there were a number of different Combee colonies on the small outcropping islands just off the coast, which provided some great research opportunities... but not without challenges. For one, the beaches were quite a ways out from their current location, and for two, it would be challenging to pinpoint the exact locations of each colony. The smaller isles weren’t well documented, which meant that was going to become part of Hop’s own fieldwork. In other words, they had a whole lot of ground to cover.

When Hop announced this to Gloria, he was immediately met with a groan. His best friend was many things, but a morning person was not one of them. In lieu of waking up at the crack of crud, she practically begged him to use the last few hours of light to make their way out to the beach. While it wasn’t Hop’s preference, it was even less of his preference to ever tell her no.

The trainers spent the next few hours twisting through the forest (which they had luckily learned their way around well enough to be able to find their way out quickly enough), scaling some moderately sizable mountains, trekking through sand and marshes… the Isle of Armor was even more diverse than Hop had realized, and twice as tiring to get through. By the time they finally saw a sliver of sand in the distance, Hop was exhausted to his core. He let out an involuntary yawn.

Gloria quirked an eyebrow in his direction. “I didn’t realize you were already an old man.”

Hop rolled his eyes playfully, but was too tired to actually retort. “I don’t know how I used to bounce around all over Galar back in our gym challenge days. Sitting around in the lab all day has really gotten to me, I guess.”

“Orrrrr you’re just getting old.”

Hop managed to muster up the energy to slug Gloria lightly on the shoulder. “I’m like, a whole 4 months older than you, so that means you’re going to be feeling like this real soon then.”

Gloria laughed, pulling a couple of snacks out of her bag as they finally plopped down on the sand. “I’m going to assume you’re not up for cooking tonight.”

Hop took one gratefully. “Yeah, thanks. I’m about ready to turn in.”

As Gloria began to unfurl her sleeping bag, Hop felt himself freeze up. For some reason, it hadn’t occurred to Hop that Gloria’s tent being broken meant it would stay broken for the rest of their trip. It really shouldn’t have come as a surprise to him, but it was also entirely possible he had been unconsciously trying to suppress the memory of sharing a tent with Urshifu from the night before.

Whether or not Gloria had been able to read his expression was hard to say, but he couldn’t help but feel guilty over her next words.

“You know, I think it would be alright if I set up my sleeping bag on the beach for the night. It’s a nice night out, and I wouldn’t want to bother you any more than I already have.”

Regardless of his own bear-related concerns, as valid as they were, Hop shook his head furiously. 

“Gloria, we’ve already been over this. You’re not a bother and you never have been, not since the day I met you. And you never will be, either, if that’s what you need to hear.”

Gloria crossed her arms over her chest, puffing slightly. Oh, so she was getting stubborn now. While her willfulness was something that Hop typically admired, he was not a fan of having the trait used against himself.

“Maybe I want to sleep outside, then. Maybe your snoring last night was too loud for me.”

Hop scoffed, in disbelief over the accusation. “Snoring, seriously? Gloria, how long have you known me? When have I ever snored? For Arceus’ sake, I’m not Lee!”

Gloria’s stubborn expression softened, replaced by something not dissimilar to confusion. “Okay, but… someone was snoring while I was awake, and we were the only two people in there.”

Hop opened his mouth with another defense ready on his lips, then closed it just as quickly as realization dawned on him. 

The two trainers turned in tandem to face Urshifu who was suddenly very interested in something in the sky, his eyes and snout turned specifically upward and away from any semblance of eye contact. It didn’t take long for Gloria to break down into a fit of giggles, and once Hop joined in on the laughter, Urshifu huffed and wandered off to find something else to distract himself with.

Hop briefly wondered if he might regret poking fun at the pokémon once the night went completely dark, but laughing along with Gloria somehow felt like it gave him a bit of a shield that he wouldn’t have otherwise.

When they finally managed to settle down, Gloria picked the conversation right back up where they had left off.

“I was serious about it being a nice night, though. I think I would like to sleep outside.”

Hop couldn’t help the way he felt his heart sink. With Gloria’s insistence, it was beginning to feel like there were probably other reasons she wanted to be away from him for the night. 

If this were five years ago, he would have frozen up and avoided her for a few days as he forced himself to pretend like nothing was wrong. But he was older now, and knew he would rather know what was on her mind and be let down then avoid it until it conveniently went away. Of course, he didn’t want it to be true, but he owed it to both himself and her to ask.

Hop ran his hands through his hair, more nervous than he would care to admit. “You know, Glo, I’m beginning to feel like it’s me that’s actually a bother to you. I don’t want to make you feel like you have to share my tent with me or anything weird like that, but I really was just trying to do you a solid.”

Gloria balked. “What in the world are you talking about?” 

“I just mean that you seem hellbent on sleeping outside. It feels like you might want some space from me is all. It’s okay if you do, and I didn’t mean to pressure you out of it. I just… would want to know if I did something.”

Okay, so maybe the delivery wasn’t great, but he was trying his best to talk things out.

“Hop, it really is nice out. And besides, it’s not like I said you couldn’t sleep with me.” Gloria met his eyes with a small smile and even smaller blush… one that quickly turned into a forest fire of red across her face as she scooted back hurriedly.

“I mean, not sleep with me, but sleep with me, like, outside. Next to me, I mean. Not with me. I mean, you’d be sleeping with me because we’d be asleep at the same time but that’s not —”

It was all Hop could do to grin back at his stupidly floundering friend, leaning in closer and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder to still her.

Gloria fell silent, reflexively swallowing as stared up at Hop.

“You’re right,” he said, with a low chuckle. “It is a nice night out. Sleeping under the stars doesn’t seem like such a bad idea after all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the slow update, and I know this one is maybe a bit short! I wanted to have the next chapter added on Valentine's Day, but one thing led to another and... well, I ended up in the hospital. I'm doing better now, still a bit tired, but I hope to get more energy to have my creativity up and running soon for even more fluff!! <3


End file.
